Terra as in terrapin
by Megan McAlistair
Summary: When on a saturday the turtles get an unusual visitor and when that visitor wants to present them with a very special gift, feelings are touched that the brothers have ignored for a long time. In the end, everyone needs a mother.
1. Prologue: Samstagmorgen

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

I don't get any money for this, just FYI.

Saturday morning in the sewers.

A peaceful time.

Michelangelo had plugged his headphones into the TV so he wouldn't disturb his brothers while watching his cartoons. „SWAT Kats go!", he cheered quietly while pumping his fist into the air.

Splinter had started the day with a strong East Frisian tea mixture, complete with cream and kluntje. On normal days he prefered the soft aroma of Darjeeling or some asian tea but this night he hadn't slept as well and now needed something strong to get him fully awake. A bad night's sleep for him always meant something was going to happen, but he wasn't going to let that worry him. It could mean anything.

Leonardo was out for breakfast. He always was the one getting the bread rolls on the weekends. Except when he was injured, when that was the case it was Mikey's job. The baker woman had known the turtles since they were three years old. Whenevery they saw her, wiith a warm inviting smile and a tray of freshly baked cookies, still warm from the oven and full of love, they would wonder if this was what it was like to have a mother.

Donatello was vast asleep in his bed. He had worked until late that night, trying to find a undetectable knockout gas. His idea was that they could use it to fight crime. If the gas was undetectable then it was untraceable as well. That way they could remain secret, in the shadows like the ninjas they were. He had initially fallen asleep on his desk but Leo had taken his responsibility as a leader seriously and gently carried his brother to bed.

Raphael was asleep as well. He had dropped dead onto his mattress, exhausted from a heated sparring match with Casey. The moment he had hit the cushions he had fallen asleep. He hadn't even had time to take off his sais. Leo had managed to take one weapon from him but the other one Raph had seemed to have mistaken with a teddybear, clutching it in his hands and nuzzling it with his nose. Leo had smirked, taking in the oddly cute scene.

„Guten Morgen, Leonardo. Ze usual?", she said in her soft German accent. „Yeah, good morning, Ute", Leo smiled at her. 'Ze usual' consisted of two 'körnerbrötchen' for Raph, two 'kaisersemmeln' for Leo, an 'einback' for Splinter, a 'mohnbrötchen' for Don and a 'rosinenbrötchen' for Mikey.

Ute was head of a small German bakery, together with her husband and her daugher Adela she made the tastiest bread rolls in New York, or at least that's what all her customers said whenever asked. A fact was that she had a lot more variety than most of the other bakerys in the area. Most prominently because she was German and Germany had as many bread roll varieties as cities. There was something for everyone.

Most of the time the turtles didn't pay with money. Don had installed a wonderful burglar alarm, repaired most of the machines and given their car the monthly checkup, Mikey was sometimes helping out, learning all the secrets and recipes from Ute. The four had also helped the family move into their new apartement and played invisible ninja bodiguards for Adela once when she had had to come home very late at night.

Ute hummed an unfamiliar tune while packing in the bread rolls. „Is Don's foot allright again? Is he not limping?". She wanted to know. „No, his foot's good. As was expected, no lasting damage", Leo informed her. „Ah, zat's good. I vouldn't vant him being ein Humpelchen", she nodded. Leo had no idea what 'humpelchen' meant but he didn't really need to either. „Bitteschön, here's your breakfast", she handed him the paperbag, smiling. „Thank you, Ute", he gave her a brief, one-armed hug and quickly disappeared into the shadows.

„Ach, diese jungen Mutantenschildkröten von heute, immer in Eile"(1), she said to herself and chuckled, then she went to open her shop to all the other customers.

(1) „These young mutant turtles of today, always in a hurry."


	2. Caput Mortu

Disclaimer: See first chapter, I like that one.

SPOV

„I'm back", Leo said in a moderate sound level. Mikey jumped up and began preparing the table for breakfast.

„I will go and wake Raphael and Donatello", I said and stood up. I liked waking up my sons. It made me feel like they were small again.

I often remembered those times with a smiled on my face. They had been so dependant of me back then. One night there had been a thunderstorm, back in the time when their training as ninjas had not yet begun. I had slept soundly through it, like I had done with every storm in my life so far, when suddenly something had woken me up. At first I had thought it had been a particularly loud clap of thunder but when I had turned around four little turtleboys had looked up at me, eyes wide and shaking. I had let them climb into my bed, which got a bit crowded, but they had slept soundly afterwards. Moments like that made me forget all the trouble they caused.

Now they weren't dependant of me anymore. They were grown up now. Enough to win the Battle Nexus Championship, though not enough not to brag about it.

I decided to wake Donatello first. His room was closest. I paused a moment, taking in the innocence of his sleep. When awakke he always seemed to be working on something, as though the world would end if he stopped building new things.

I shook his shoulder. „Rise and shine, Donatello, breakfast is waiting", I said with a smile on my face. He stirred and opened his eyes. „Father?", he mumbled sleepily. In the morning I was always father, I smiled.

Don sat up and rubbed his eyes, slowly taking in his surroundings. „How did I get into my bed?", he asked himself but I didn't answer him. I wanted to tell him I had put him to bed but that would have been a lie. It had been a long time since I had called myself young and I coudn't carry my sons anymore without causing pain to my old body. Especially since they had grown so much.

But even now I was still afraid that, when one day I couldn't be there anymore, they still wouldn't be ready. I was afraid of the moment when they looked for someone to turn to, and found no one.

I preceded to Raphael's room. He had snuggled the sai under his cheek, clutching the handle in his sleep and would probably wake up with it's shape on his face. I was reminded of a teddy bear with a moveable wire core that was stripped of it's plush. There had been something like that once. Raphael had taken a plush toy apart because he claimed that the plush was stealing all his air. He had then slept only with the wire core. I still didn't know whether he had really found that comfortable or just wanted to appear tough.

But before I could gently shake my son's shoulder and make a good-spirited but witty comment about his sleeping habits a strange blueish light came through the open door and a distinctly familiar sound was there to be heard.

I rushed back to the main room only to find a tall, dark and objectively handsome man standing in the middle of the room. Mikey was on the floor, giving his best impression of the shocked damsel.

He did that sometimes, analysing the situation and coming up with the most recognizable role for it. Be it the cool Cowboy, the sly banker, the arrogant ex-boyfriend or the superhero, he always impressed me, though I would never admit that to him.

„Who are you?", Leo asked cautiously.

The man smiled and when he suddenly grabbed his abdomen firmly with both hands and ripped it apart, the turtle on the floor let out a shriek.

„Mortu? What are you doing here?", a sleepy Don who had just emerged from his room asked.

Silence.

„I'll go wake up Raph", Leo mumbled and went for his brother's room.

-five minutes later-

„So you just decided to come over for a visit?", Raph wanted to know, rubbing his cheek to get rid of the sai mark. „Not quite. You see, on my home planet today is a special holiday. The earth equivalent would be mother's day", Mortu explained, taking another sip of his milk, one of the few earth things he actually ate... or rather drank. „You guys have mothers?", Mikey asked. Raph hit him in the back of the head. „Ow, what?", was Mikey's reaction.

Mortu just chuckled. „But what has Mother's day have to do with us? We don't have a mother", Leo reasoned. „And that is exactly what I have come here for", Mortu set down his cup, looked at the four turtles and lastly at me.

I could practically see the wheels turn in my youngest son's head and the conclusion he reached was obvious on his face. „But you'd look terrible in an apron", Mikey exclaimed his first objection. Their Utrom visitor looked confused but we other four knew what had sparked that exclamation. Raph gave him another hit. This time he just pouted quietly.

Mortu decided that he should better just keep explaining. „I remembered all the things you did for us and decided that I should do something for you in return."

Dramatic pause.

The turtles leaned forward in anticipation and although I was making an effort to keep it barely visible I was perking my ears. The only noise was coming from the lemon that slowly returned to its old shape after having been squeezed for juice. A slow 'schmuck' coming from it everytime it opened up a bit more.

„I will help you find your mother."


End file.
